How long did it take for you to enter your first race? (Read 820 times)

About 12 years...I was a 3-4x a week treadmill runner just trying to stay healthy all those years, and I mistakenly thought that races were for people much faster than me. Finally my wife convinced me to run a 5k to benefit my daughter's school...and I couldn't believe how much I loved the experience and how much my performance exceeded my expectations.

I think I did my first jogging in late 1970s - just to relax. Irregular until March 2001 when I decided I wanted to do a "little more" and started somewhat structured running and started learning from a usenet forum. Read some race reports, and they sounded like fun. I had no idea races even existed for the general public. I was aware of the Olympics and vaguely aware of some mountain races. I found a package deal (called a triathlon ) in December which was the only race I was aware of locally. So that was about 9 months. Then someone in Anchorage running shoe store pointed me to the Alaska runners' calendar with all the running races for the state. duh. My first running-only race was in May 2002, so about 14 months after starting more serious running.

You really need to know that there are races and when they are before you can actually do one.

"So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog

I think I did my first jogging in late 1970s - just to relax. Irregular until March 2001 when I decided I wanted to do a "little more" and started somewhat structured running and started learning from a usenet forum....

...My first running-only race was in May 2002, so about 14 months after starting more serious running.

Wow... almost the exact same timeline here. I started running off and on in the late-70s but didn't enter my first real race until August 2002. It was a 5k my girlfriend dared me to enter and I did totally on a lark. I got a 1st place AG medal in my first race and got hooked.

Wow... almost the exact same timeline here. I started running off and on in the late-70s but didn't enter my first real race until August 2002. It was a 5k my girlfriend dared me to enter and I did totally on a lark. I got a 1st place AG medal in my first race and got hooked.

Oh, l race, but it's not the reason l run. It never was. I did get to a point where l was pretty active in the racing community, but now l race only if invited. It's not important to me at all... even though l have a nearly unbroken streak of at least placing in my AG. There has been only one race in 10 years l didn't medal at, but it was a fluke; l lined up too far back and spent 2 minutes walking at a huge 5k. My fault for being too gotdang polite.
That will never happen again.

Oh, l race, but it's not the reason l run. It never was. I did get to a point where l was pretty active in the racing community, but now l race only if invited. It's not important to me at all... even though l have a nearly unbroken streak of at least placing in my AG. There has been only one race in 10 years l didn't medal at, but it was a fluke; l lined up too far back and spent 2 minutes walking at a huge 5k. My fault for being too gotdang polite. That will never happen again.

You know what you're saying kind of reminds me of the scene from "the aviator" where howard hughes (Leonardo Dicaprio) is sitting at the dinner table of his girlfriend's family, who are very wealthy, and they are all saying that they don't care about money. And he says something like "of course you don't, because you've always had it". I'm not in any way disparaging your view point, I'm just thinking like "yeah, if i won or placed in every race i ever ran in from my first race on, I guess I wouldn't care about racing or winning races either".

EDIT: I do know what you mean though, and the reasons you run go beyond racing. You are a true runner, I know this from your posts. And of course you did run for 30 yrs without racing, so what your saying has credibility.

MrNamtor

posted: 12/3/2012 at 1:13 AM

I ran my first race, a 5k, about 6 months after I started running regularly. I was running about 12-15 mpw, and one day my DW said "why don't you run a 5k" and I said "well, I'm not a really a runner, but it might be interesting to see how fast i am". That was over a year ago and I've run another 5k and the chicago urbanathlon since then.

... I'm just thinking like "yeah, if i won or placed in every race i ever ran in from my first race on, I guess I wouldn't care about racing or winning races either".

EDIT: I do know what you mean though, and the reasons you run go beyond racing. You are a true runner, I know this from your posts. And of course you did run for 30 yrs without racing, so what your saying has credibility.

Yeah... I don't need the motivation of a race to run, it's more about the running than the racing for me. The trophies and the medals are nice, but I don't have a wall of fame where I display them or anything. They're packed away in a box somewhere, I'm not even sure where exactly the box is now. I need to find it to conglomerate the stuff I got in the meantime.

I really admire the people I always saw at the races who will probably never place in their AG if more than 3 people show up. They're always there plugging away and getting more out of the events than most of the really competitive runners. They were actually what I enjoyed most about entering races. I still bump into a few of them occasionally out and about. It's like because we met at a race, there is a social bond there.

There absolutely is.

DoppleBock

posted: 12/3/2012 at 2:27 PM

I started gallow-walking July 1st - Weight > 300#

I ran a 3 mile race early September still weighing 286 - Ran 20:05 ... Decided I should keep with it.

Retired 1/1/13 ... Tired of being broken and fat ... Hit 296# Memorial Day 2016 - New goal = To be able to enjoy running 4-5 hours through the woods again by Fall 2016. April 2017

Another race before you run story. My wife signed the whole family up for a 5k, 2nd grader, 7th grader and us, so that we could have a family activity to do together. She had been doing a bit of run/walking, 7th grader was starting cross-country, 2nd grader ran with the team for fun. I was 44 at the time. I went out on Wednesday afternoon before the race and ran 3 miles in 90 degree weather, August in Alabama, to make sure I could do the distance. Started the race and 29 minutes later I was hooked. Been running ever since. That was 8 years ago. Both boys ran/run cross-country, my wife still run/walks races with me. I run my race, then circle back to come in with her. I don't anticipate stopping.